Sunday, February 2nd, 2014 | Posted by WorldTribune.com
Anti-Defamation League charges administration waging ‘vendetta’ against U.S. Jews
Special to WorldTribune.com
WASHINGTON — An American Jewish leader has reported government intimidation against his community.
Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, said the administration of President Barack Obama has been waging what he termed a “vendetta” against the Jewish community.
Abraham Foxman. /Reuters
Abraham Foxman. /Reuters
In a rare acknowledgement of Jewish concerns, Foxman cited the administration’s refusal to release Jonathan Pollard, the former U.S. Navy analyst sentenced to life for relaying classified data to Israel.
“If it were only a vendetta against one individual it would be bad enough,” Foxman said. “But it has now become one against the American Jewish community.”
Foxman became the first American Jewish leader to report fears within the community under Obama. He was one of the only leaders of a major Jewish organization to respond to a survey by the magazine Tablet on the repercussions of Pollard’s continued imprisonment, which was approaching 30 years.
“In effect, the continuing imprisonment of this person long after he should have been pardoned on humanitarian grounds can only be read as an effort to intimidate American Jews,” Foxman, who issued similar remarks to the Israeli media, said.
“And, it is an intimidation that can only be based on an anti-Semitic stereotype about the Jewish community, one that we have seen confirmed in our public opinion polls over the years, the belief that American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their own country, the United States.”
Over the last few months, American Jewish leaders have urged Israel to
avoid a crisis with the United States. Diplomats said the leaders feared a
backlash against American Jews by Obama supporters, particularly the Muslim
community.
Another who responded to the Tablet was Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice
chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.
Hoenlein said every American president since Bill Clinton was approached to
commute Pollard’s sentence.
“It is indeed frustrating and each day the injustice grows,” Hoenlein
said.
http://www.worldtribune.com/2014/02/02/anti-defamation-league-charges-administration-waging-vendetta-against-u-s-jews/
